Commonly in the art, carpet floor covering is purchased in bulk rolls, each of which individually weighs more than that weight which is reasonably manually manipulated. Such bulk rolls most commonly require a forklift or other mechanical apparatus for moving the roll into and out of storage. The advantage of a forklift is not commonly available at a job site where the bulk carpet is to be divided into portions, each of a size suitable for application of the carpet onto a given area for flooring.
Bulk carpet commonly is available in twelve foot widths. The amount of carpet (length) in a roll may vary widely. It is not uncommon for a bulk roll of carpet to weigh several hundred pounds. Movement of a roll of this nature from storage and transport of the same to a job site almost universally requires some type of mechanical lift, such as a forklift for moving the roll from storage and only a truck, van or the like for transport to the job site. Transporting of a forklift, for example, to a job site is not practical, however, thereby creating a problem for an installer when reaching the job site.
At a job site, the carpet installer must divide the twelve foot wide carpet into individual portions, each having a length which is suitable for covering a given area of flooring. For example, for covering a 12×12 foot floor area, the installer will need to unwind 12 linear feet of the carpet from the roll, etc. In most instances, multiple withdrawal of individual portions of the bulk roll will be made with respect to a given job site.